The Lord of the Rings is a bit like the tree that hides the forest. Beyond Tolkien’s work and its numerous imitators, a much more varied Fantasy exists. To make us (re)discover it is up to you. You can decidedly turn your back on Tolkien and take an opposite course, explore the margins of Fantasy fiction when it meets the Fantastique/Gothic, Science-fiction, History or Crime fiction, or return to the roots of myth and fairy tale.

Your short stories (6 to 7 pages long maximum), written either in English or French, are to be sent in .doc format, Times New Roman 12 point, at fantasyartandstudies@outlook.combefore March 30th May 15th 2016.

We are also looking for pictures to illustrate the theme of this first issue of Fantasy Art and Studies. If you have the soul of a graphic artist, send us your work, in PNG or JPEG format, before April 20th 2016.

Call for papers for the first issue, Beyond Tolkien/Par-delà Tolkien, is now open.

Since the publication of The Lord of the Rings in 1954-1955, Tolkien’s work holds a prominent position in Fantasy fiction, in the editorial discourse (back covers bearing the mention “The best fantasy series since Tolkien”) as well as in the critical discourse on the genre. Besides, the aura of Tolkien’s work has long established, in the public and the media, the association of Fantasy with medieval fantastic worlds, comprising a largely stereotyped bestiary (Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Wizards) and a universe based on Norse mythologies. The movie adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by Peter Jackson have reinforced the identity of Fantasy and tolkienian fiction among the public, so much as to eclipse a large part of the production in the genre. Children Fantasy works set apart (Harry Potter, Narnia, His Dark Materials), only George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire seems to emerge, thanks to the advertising it has gained through its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, while Tolkien’s work remains the best known Fantasy work.

However, if the bookshop shelves are mainly lined with similar book series, sometimes can be found a novel which gets off the beaten track, and specialized publishers’ catalogues are far from being so monolithic. So a question arises: but what is beyond Tolkien’s work? What does the overwhelming shadow of The Lord of the Rings hide? In other words, what is today’s Fantasy really made of? What are the main currents and lines of force which nowadays innerve the genre?

You are invited to approach these questions from:

– the perspective of hybridisation and the overflowing of Fantasy on other genres (Science-fiction, Fantastique/Gothic, Crime fiction, Historical fiction,…),

– the perspective of heritage and disruptions vis-à-vis Tolkien,

– the perspective of a return to the roots (myths, fairy tales,…).

Papers (5 to 6 pages long maximum) in English or French are to be sent in .doc format, Times New Roman 12 point font, before March 30th 2016 May 15th 2016 to fantasyartandstudies@outlook.com.